Istanbul Digital Art Festival opens at AKM

ISTANBUL

The fifth Istanbul Digital Art Festival (IDAF) opened its doors to art lovers at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM).

The festival brings together leading names in digital art from both Türkiye and around the world. IDAF, which held its preview in Paris, is Türkiye’s first and only internationally organized digital art festival. This year’s theme is “Connecting.”

Attending the opening ceremony, Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister Batuhan Mumcu noted that AKM has been the festival’s birthplace and main venue since its inception. “This festival offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on and reinterpret our times,” he said.

Referring to this year’s theme, Mumcu added, “As you know, this year’s theme focuses on the transformation of our daily relationships through digitalization and how this can be viewed from an artistic perspective. AI-based projects, augmented reality works and new artistic initiatives have now become central to cultural policy. That’s why, as the Ministry, we view digital arts as an integral part of contemporary artistic production. We deeply value supporting these new fields of expression. Offering opportunities to young artists and creative minds and supporting all forms of art that reflect the spirit of our time, alongside classical forms, is of great importance to us. I believe the Istanbul Digital Art Festival will be inspiring for both artists and audiences. I extend my thanks to everyone contributing to the festival, especially our artist friends and those working to grow this field.”

Festival Director Dr. Nabat Garakhanova stated that the IDAF journey was initially quite challenging, as many people did not understand their vision. However, she said, in just five years the festival has reached an international level.

Hale Yıldırım, Vice President of the Digital Art Association, said the idea for the association was inspired by the festival itself.

“From the very beginning, the Istanbul Digital Art Festival has continuously raised its standards, becoming richer in both content and diversity of artists and works. It started with 10 artists and now features 80. We founded this association to take it even further,” she said. “We aim to focus on how digitalization influences art and create space for technology-based works, increasing their visibility, strengthening digital art’s place among art platforms and expanding awareness in society.”

Followed by a performance titled “The Dance of the Moment” by the State Folk Dance Ensemble, the evening featured a concert by the Monster Game Music Orchestra and a performance of “Tonochrome” by SB50 Studio.

About the festival

The festival will showcase works by 80 artists working in digital arts from Türkiye and abroad. In addition to exhibitions, the program includes workshops for children and youth, digital shows, theater, robot performances, panels and both visual and auditory live shows.

This year’s curators include Rahim Ünlü, Niyazi Erdoğan, Samed Karagöz, Evgeniya Romanidi and Avind — Türkiye’s first AI curator.

Open to all and free of charge, the festival also features masterclasses, panels and performances across a wide range of disciplines, including theater.

Among the highlights is “Memory Anatolia,” an AI-generated artwork curated by Samed Karagöz using millions of images from Anadolu Agency’s visual archive.